Phenomenon
by delcalix
Summary: Bella had to leave Phoenix for a different reason. Her heart broken and her spirit shattered, she moves to live with her dad to start over.
1. Prologue

The last thing that I wanted was to be the center of attention. Dozens of people looking at you, analyzing your every move and wondering why you're doing that and what you'll do next. The worst part is the judgment that inevitably comes with being looked at. It's not that I think there's something wrong with me, I know that outwardly I look like every other girl, besides being a bit more pale and fragile than most. It's what's on the inside that makes me different, and showing those things inside is not something I do often. In fact that's an understatement, I never do it… anymore.

Being raised in Phoenix, Arizona gives you an appreciation for living in a big city. There are tons of people around and no one gives a rats ass who you are. I love it because, unless I trip, no one looks at me. I grew up with the same kids from kindergarten to 10th grade. They all pretty much ignored me. Breaks in elementary school were spent buried in a book or on the swings enjoying the rush of air against my face. Some called me a loner and a loser, but I was happy, content in myself.

Then high school started. 8th grade went off without a hitch. More time spent reading and doing homework as there were no swings on campus. My teachers were great, they never called on me in class and I always brought home a report card with pretty little A's all over it. Again, happy and content are the words I would use at this point in my life.

Then 9th grade started and in walked James Nomad Jr. He was simply wonderful. When I saw him in the halls, I couldn't help but look at him. He never looked my way though, and quickly he became popular and the subject of much swooning in the female student body. When the prettiest girl in school attached herself to his arm, I resigned myself to stolen glances and wishes.

It was the beginning of 10th grade that changed my life. I mentioned earlier that my inside was different and if people knew about it, they'd look at me like I was an alien or something. Well, that'd because since I was a very little girl I've been able to will things to move without touching them. No one on earth except my mom, dad and me know about this abnormality in my brain or wherever it comes from. It started with I was a few months old, or so my mom tells me. When I would cry things would rattle around me. When I laughed things around me would vibrate, and if I was startled or scared, things were jump.

As I got older, my emotions became more and more linked to this defect. It got to the point where light bulbs would burst and small appliances would short out. My dad wanted to take me to see a doctor, he was scared for me, worried that I wouldn't fit in. My mom refused to expose me to all the tests that doctors and whoever else would want to run on me. Though my mom always denies that I was the reason for her and my dad's divorce, I know that it was due to me and my stupid curse.

I was four when we moved from Forks, Washington to Phoenix. It was there that I forced myself to control my emotions. By the time kindergarten started, I was outbreak free for the most part and I never told a living soul. That is until 10th grade when I opened up and let someone in. Someone I thought cared about me, wanted to be there for me in every way.

My downfall started when James dumped his hot girlfriend and declared himself a bachelor looking for his soul mate. The very same James that never looked at me once the year before, came right up to me during lunch and sat across from me at my usually empty lunch table. I trusted him almost immediately. His charm and charisma got into my head and under my skin. He would pick me up at sunset and take me on long drives where we would talk about everything. He told me about his mother and father and how his sister had cancer and his uncle committed suicide. He opened up in ways that I never knew were possible.

I felt safe in my decision to tell him about my skeletons. On one of our long drives, we stopped in a park and walked hand in hand through the trees. I told him about my parent's divorce and how it was my fault. He refused to believe it was my doing so I told him everything about my weird ability. I don't know what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised when he took it so well, even being understanding and asking questions. He wanted me to show him, but I had spent so long repressing it that I flat out refused to give a demonstration. Which he accepted.

That night he gave me a little kiss goodnight. I was walking on air all the way up to my room where I drifted into happy dreams of having someone, besides my parents, in on my secret who knew I was different and loved me anyway.

This euphoric feeling lasted until I stepped through the front door of the school to everyone staring at me. "Hey, Carrie! Want some pig's blood?!" someone yelled from somewhere in the throng. Then the whole mass erupted in laughter, and there in the thick of it all was James Nomad Jr., laughing the hardest of them all. Every piece of glass within 10 meters of me shattered as my heart and soul shattered.

I ran.


	2. Arrival

The next three weeks saw me crying in the basement, spending hours and hours standing under the hot spray of the shower, then finally packing up my stuff and moving. My emotions were raw and things flew everywhere, vibrated, shattered, and even melted, but, with the help of my mom, I regained a big enough portion of my former control to keep things on the shelves.

I didn't return to school after that day and once all the glass was fixed, the incident sort of faded into something resembling an urban myth. James called me once and tried to apologize, saying it was a joke. I was so mad that the phone literally melted in my hand. He never called back.

Home schooling was mentioned during those three weeks I was recovering, but I didn't want to cut myself off from the world. I wanted to be normal, or as normal as I could be. My mom couldn't leave her job though, so that started the talk about me finishing high school in Forks, living with Charlie, my dad. He jumped at the idea, enthused about having me with him indefinitely. So I packed.

The plane ride was okay. I always get a little scared when I have to fly somewhere. It was a testament to my unshakable control being back when nothing took flight as a result of my nerves. I couldn't help but be proud of myself and my ability to bounce back.

Port Angeles appeared below me as the plane descended through the clouds. It was raining and dreary, but my mood was already lethargic so I was okay with the weather matching me. "Bells!" I turned to the voice and saw my dad striding over to me. "Look at you, all grown up." he said, stating the obvious. I resisted the urge to point out that growing was what teenagers did by default.

"Hey dad." I said, accepting his awkward, side hug. It did feel good to see him again, male companionship was seriously lacking in my life. I quickly shook that off before depression reared its ugly head again. Stupid boys.

Charlie spouted off some small talk questions on the way to his house, my early childhood home. Mostly about what I've been up to and how mom was. He didn't touch on the circumstances that brought me here, for which I was grateful. I remember Charlie being a little on edge about my unusualness. "Jacob Black is stoked about seeing you again. You remember him, eh?" he asked me.

Sure I remembered Jacob. We were in daycare together. He used to pull me hair and try to make me cry. He stopped when a rubber ball flew across the room and nailed him in the head. It was me, of course, but the only person who seemed to believe that was Jacob, everyone else blamed Lauren, the jealous little girl with a crush on Jacob. I didn't know what to say so I just nodded and gave a small smile.

It was a bit of a drive from Port Angeles to Forks, but it passed in comfortable silence. At least for me it was comfortable, I could feel the nervous tension emanated off Charlie though. Poor guy didn't know what to say to his teenage daughter that just pulled a Carrie at high school and was now fleeing the scene. I understood and didn't take offense.

The house was exactly as I remembered it. White siding with dark trim. I really did love this house. I had a smile on my face as Charlie and I hauled my one suitcase up the stairs to my room. My old bed was replaced with a new twin bed, the walls had been painted a nice neutral color that brought in the light from the bay window. It was empty save for the bed, dresser and a lamp on the bedside table. "Thanks, dad." I said as Charlie set my suitcase on the bed which was covered in a purple quilt.

"I hope you like the new colors. Miss. Morison at the paint shop told me to paint it this color a couple years ago." he said, seeming to apologize. I remembered the girlish pinky purple it used to be and was grateful for the change. A little pink and purple was okay, too much was just oppressive. "It's great, dad." I assured him.

He gave a little smile and nodded. "Well bathroom is down the hall, my room is over there. You know where the kitchen is and all that." he said, I could tell he was feeling more and more awkward by the second.

So I let him off the hook with a nod and, "I should get unpacked and settled."

He took the cue and left me alone in my new/old room. With a deep breath I began unpacking and hanging up my clothes. All the personal possessions that I brought with me, like my dolphin figurine that I got from my mom and my diary were set carefully on my bedside table. My mom was going to ship me my books in a few days, but I didn't know where I would put them; no bookshelf. The unpacking done, I sat down on my bed and looked around.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't homesick. But if being here would keep me away from that jerk that broke my heart and caused me to break about a dozen windows, then I'd deal. I felt tears threaten, the dolphin figurine started to rattle, my diary flipped open as if a huge gust of wind hit it, and the lampshade shook. Angrily, I wiped the tears away and forced myself to regain control. One stupid boy and I was causing mini earthquakes again!

Hopefully school would go well.

~*~*~*~*~


End file.
